Q & A With Kris Kristofferson

It seems only right that when Kris Kristofferson, 63, decides to have a family, he should go for broke. Now living on a large plantation in Hawaii, he is the father of eight. The onetime Golden Glove boxer and Army pilot, now a movie star and Hall of Fame singer-songwriter, has never been one for compromise. His politically and spiritually charged songs have provided hits for the likes of Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Janis Joplin, Willie Nelson and Frank Sinatra, while his own records have done quite well, too. On his latest, "The Austin Sessions," Kristofferson revisits some of his best-known compositions in a stark new setting. He plays Thursday at the Great American Music Hall.

Q: I never pictured you as much of a family man.

A: It's kind of a surprise to wake up and realize it, but somehow I've managed to surround myself with all these little things that I love.

Q: Were you resistant at first?

A: Yes, because I fought so hard for my freedom back when I decided to go my own way and be who I wanted to be. For a lot of years, I just didn't want to give an inch. Then it sort of evolved. I started having so many little kids, it was just like, "Hey, stupid. Take a look around. This is what you're missing when you're on the road."

Q: How do you feel about the little twerps now?

A: They're the sweetest part of my life now. I think it's something that I always wanted, but I just didn't know it.

Q: Are there any particular Kristofferson traits that run in the family?

A: Well, they're all pretty independent. I have a little difficulty with that sometimes. They laugh at me like I'm the old guy.

Q: What's the best way to discipline eight kids?

A: I've pretty much thrown the oars out. (Laughs) I try to set boundaries and be there for them, and so far it seems to be working pretty good.

Q: Do you worry that some of them are going to live your wild life?

A: Oh, God, yes. (Laughs) Some of the older kids already have. But they're all sweethearts and they're all happy. Casey, my daughter, is making an album now of songs she's written with Amy Nelson, Willie Nelson's little girl.

Q: That sounds like trouble.

A: They don't have a chance. (Laughs) They've been friends since they were 2. With genes like that, all I can hope is that I also passed on the good fortune that seems to follow me around.

Q: Was there a moment when everything crystallized for you?

A: I don't think it's crystallized yet. It evolves daily. I look around myself surprised all the time. But I'm still doing what I believe in.

Q: Has it been a battle?

A: The battle right now for me is how to do everything I want to do with my work and my family, with an increasing awareness of the fleeting time.

Q: Do you think about death a lot?

A: I had triple bypass heart surgery last May, and that gets you thinking about it. But I came out of it healthier than I went in. I'm running six miles every morning now.

Q: Would you say most of your troubles came from a combination of booze and women?

A: Oh, God, no. Women and booze weren't the problem, they were the solution. (Laughs)

Q: What was the problem?

A: Just life -- trying to do something meaningful, and trying to make sense out of all of it. It's the strangest thing in the world, but the one thing we all have in common and we're all gonna do is die.

Q: But you've always been a restless spirit.

A: I haven't always felt that I was out of time, but I always wanted to experience and learn as much as I could. When you stop having that desire to play the game, then they can probably throw dirt on you.

Q: How did your life change after you stopped drinking?

A: I could remember things better. I didn't do as many stupid things. I didn't go to jail anymore. (Laughs)

Q: Are there times when you really want to hit the bottle?

A: Not really. I'm glad I lived through it. I don't regret those years at all, because I had some wonderful times. Getting loaded allowed me to do things that my conservative, straight-arrow background wouldn't let me do. It took the pistol away from my head and allowed me to do things as audacious as get up in front of a 1,000 strangers and sing my innermost thoughts and my little poems. That was a very vulnerable position to be in.

Q: Your new album contains remakes of all your signature tunes. Do you still feel an attachment to them after all this time?

A: In a way it's more. Over the years, I've sung them so many times and other people I really respect have sung them. Everybody from Janis Joplin to Jerry Lee Lewis to Johnny Cash, and all these people. The songs get very full of meaning. I can't sing "Me and Bobby McGee" without thinking of Janis, especially that line, "Then somewhere near Salinas, Lord/ I let her slip away."

Q: Legend has it you never actually saw her perform the song live.

A: Never heard her sing it live. It must not have been an accident. I think I didn't want to hang out at her shows because I was just starting to perform myself. I didn't want to be somebody in the locker room.

Q: Does Barbra Streisand, your co-star in "A Star Is Born," still send cards around the holidays?

A: Jesus, the last time I heard from her was when I sent some flowers when she got married. I signed the note John Norman Howard (his character in "A Star Is Born"). But I don't talk to too many people back on the mainland. I came out here for a reason. (Laughs)